Narrabri gas field: ‘If this does not happen, our kids have no future’
Green groups and activists from outside the area have delayed a decision on the Narrabri gas field until the end of September, but locals are clear on what the outcome should be: ‘Approve it now and save our future’.
NSW
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For the past 10 years Narrabri farmer Peter Gett has harvested wheat right up against the fence of the coal seam gas wells on his properties.
At least when there was enough water to grow a crop — during the drought he used the income from the gas wells to help him through the bad times.
“I wouldn’t be putting my own farm at risk if I thought it was dangerous,” Mr Gett, 63, said.
“I have not had a single problem with my water.”
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The Independent Planning Commission has extended the deadline on its decision on the Narrabri gas field until the end of September.
The extra time is required to process the sheer weight of submissions, the vast majority of which are from green groups and activists from outside the area.
These include the Knitting Nannies Against Gas from Lismore and Bayside Seniors from Victoria.
“There is no fracking of the rock here,” Mr Gett said.
“I have seen the videos of gas coming out of taps. It’s not like America where they are drilling in loose sand, there is a rock bed here that stops that happening.”
Mr Gett believes those against the mine are not just failing to understand the science, they are failing to grasp the economics.
“The $30,000 a year lease helped me pay my bills through the drought,” he said.
It is a lesson that has already been learnt in Queensland, where more than 600 farmers have shared more than $70 million from hosting Santos gas production pipes in the past five years.
“These benefits have helped drought-proof local farms by providing a second source of income from hosting gas field infrastructure, allowing landholders to expand their business in other directions, purchase additional land and add value to their properties,” Santos chief executive Kevin Gallagher said.
“We want to see Narrabri and surrounding communities benefit from the safe, sustainable development of coal seam gas resources in the same way Queensland communities have done over the past decade or more.”
NSW Energy and Environment Minister Matt Kean said it would also secure the future of cheap reliable energy for NSW over the next 25 years and provide baseload support for renewable energy.
“The Narrabri project is not only critical for the stability of our energy system but it will see hundreds of new jobs created in the bush at a time when it’s critically needed,” he said yesterday.
“This project is good for the economy and with the right protections will not adversely impact the environment, human health or groundwater.”
The Australian Consumer and Competition Commission this week warned Australia’s southern states were heading for a gas shortage without a new supply.
Energy and Emissions Reduction Minister Angus Taylor has thrown the federal government’s support behind the Narrabri project.
“Gas will be central to our ongoing economic recovery,” he said.
It is a message being received loud and clear on the ground in Narrabri.
Australian Recycled Plastics owner Dale Smith, 49, would see a tenfold drop in his energy prices if Narrabri gas field producer Santos ran a pipeline past his factory.
“Cutting costs would allow us to grow the business and employ more staff. I would expect to see that more than double to 100 people,” he said.
Local business owner and Narrabri Industry Network president Justin Smith, 39, said: “It is inevitable that without some kind of diversification we will turn the bush into a series of ghost towns.
“We need this project to go ahead.”
Mr Smith and wife Karly, 38, are planning a future for their children Mary, 2, and Flynn, 1, in Narrabri. “If we miss this boat I will be planning a future for my family elsewhere,” he said.
Mrs Smith said: “If this project does not happen there is no future for our kids in this town. They will go away to uni and never come back.”
She has little time for those who had campaigned against the gas field. “They seem to be anti-gas lobbyists who come to town to nay-say and then leave whatever the verdict.”